adventures in food & travel

Mascarpone Creme Brulee

We’re about one month overdue for a creme brulee recipe, don’t you think?

This past weekend a couple of my friends came to the valley for vacation. I got to crash their hotel’s pool and join them for dinner and we had too much fun. We tried a new restaurant for dinner and had the weirdest experience with our waitress. My friend order steak and when I noticed it came with “cauliflower custard” I got curious and had to ask. Big mistake. This somehow flipped the waitress switch to full-on pretentious. She harshly critiqued my friends steak order and continued to back hand criticize him until we left.

Anyway, the cauliflower custard ended up to be a huge hit—who knew cauliflower could get that smooth. It looked like cream. This somehow led to us all discussing our love for creme brulee and our deep sadness that this restaurant didn’t have any for our dessert desires. So this post really couldn’t come at a better time.

The creamy, richness of the mascarpone cheese (hi, obsessed, not sorry) gives this smooth creme brulee with a crunch even more depth of flavor and decadence.

Melt the mascarpone into the cream and bring the cream/mascarpone mix and vanilla to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat (give this a good whisking throughout to prevent scorching) Once boiling, remove from heat and set aside for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Beat the egg yolks with the honey until combined and just a bit frothy. Slowly add the cream, whisking continuously.

Pour the mixture into 2 8-ounce ramekins.

Place the ramekins in a water bath (place the ramekins in a pan and fill the pan with hot water so the water level reaches halfway up the ramekins). Bake for 45–50 minutes, until mostly set but still a little jiggly.

Remove the ramekins from the water bath and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Just before serving, add about a teaspoon of white granulated sugar to the top of each creme and shake it around or spread evenly. Then using a culinary torch (read the instructions and warnings on your torch first) on high, burn the sugar into a crisp crust. Serve immediately.